Events

Parts Known & Unknown: Exploring the Borders of Truth, Reconciliation and Redress

Every Child Matters

Parts Known & Unknown:  Exploring the Borders of Truth, Reconciliation and Redress

W. Kamau Bell joined Anthony Bourdain in Kenya in what was to be the final season of the CNN series, Parts Unknown. Kamau has roots in Kenya and this was his first time travelling to the motherlands of his people, and he stated something that I thought was interesting. He said something like, “coming to Kenya, you know, it’s nice to have a diasporic-kind-of-connection, even though I did not come from Kenya, but I have roots in Kenya, and even if that frame that the connection was built through was colonialism.”

It made me think about what it would be like for someone like myself to travel to the ancestral homes of my people. Well, this is my home. Certainly, more than it is your home, and in this era of truth and reconciliation, it is now both my home as much as it is your home. I come from no other place in the world than from right here, diitiidʔaaʔtx̣ – Ditidaht, we are the Nuuchahnulth and the seas for miles of shoreline and all of the land on the western side of our Vancouver Island home, from Point No Point in the south to Brooks Peninsula in the north, is Nuuchahnulth territory, our haahuulthii.

In the conclusion of that episode with W. Kamau Bell in Parts Unknown, Tony narrates an epilogue, “Who gets to tell the stories? This is a question asked often. The answer in this case, for better or for worse, is I do, at least this time out. I do my best, I look, I listen, but in the end, I know it’s my story. Not Kamau’s, not Kenya’s, or Kenyans’. Those stories are yet to be heard.”

It’s important for colonial settlers, and for new settlers, to Canada to consider who you are and where you come from, and what it means to live in British Columbia, and to think about your own frame of reference as being truly Canadian, even if that frame that the connection was built through was colonialism. The context, the narrative, the history, the good or bad of it, the story of what it means to be Canadian is apart and a part of your individual and shared story as a British Columbian, as a Canadian, as an unwelcomed or welcomed colonial settler, and as a new settler. The stories that have yet to be heard, and are now starting in some ways to be told, is our story, my story, of what it means to be diitiidʔaaʔtx̣, to be Nuuchahnulth, to be First Nations, to be Indigenous, and to also be Canadian in this country and in this province.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a unique opportunity to bridge the divide of our individual and collective stories, our distinct and shared experiences, and our united effort to right and write a new history chaptered with the stories of a sincere determination to tell the truths of the past, to reaffirm and renew our commitments to reconcile all things oppressive, racist and insufferable, and to create an honest and just redress for all Indigenous – First Nations, Inuit, Métis – peoples. It would be momentous to proclaim someday that we all come from a country in which the frame that the connection was built through was equality, acceptance and compassion.

It’s fair to ask, “What will you do between October 1st, 2022 and September 29th, 2023, to recognize your part in this history, this story, and what will you actively do to shift the narrative?” We’re at an urgent time in our country’s history to thoughtfully and actively explore all parts known and unknown in our ongoing journey to come to terms with each other and with our past, and with the present day. I look forward to the work ahead this year, and I’ll look forward to us hearing each other’s stories next year and in the many years to come.

With Respect,

Derek Thompson – Thlaapkiituup
Indigenous Initiatives Advisor, Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Continue Learning

“The time to make things happen is now. The time to seek out our individual and shared power is now.”

Read the Message from the Indigenous Initiatives Advisor, Derek Thompson – Thlaapkiituup, here

Discover REDI’s Indigenous-Specific Resources here

Welcome to REDI

Research Voices from the Field with Faizal Haji

Research Voices from the Field with Faizal Haji

Research Voices from the Field is a new feature that showcases cutting-edge research that breaks barriers and promotes inclusion in medicine. Each edition spotlights a research publication and includes insights directly from the authors—revealing their motivations, the significance of their findings, and why the research matters for healthcare professionals everywhere.

In this edition, Faizal Haji, pediatric neurosurgeon at the BC Children’s Hospital and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery, reflects on why he co-authored “Defining a Framework and Evaluation Metrics for Sustainable Global Surgical Partnerships” — a piece relevant to anyone interested in decolonization and global health equity.

Faizal Haji

In this edition, Faizal Haji, pediatric neurosurgeon at the BC Children’s Hospital and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery, reflects on why he co-authored “Defining a Framework and Evaluation Metrics for Sustainable Global Surgical Partnerships” — a piece relevant to anyone interested in decolonization and global health equity.

Read Faizal Haji‘s bio

Faizal Haji, MD, PhD, FRCSC

Dr. Faizal Haji is a pediatric neurosurgeon at the BC Children’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Haji is also co-lead for the Surgical Education Research Interest Group, Graduate Program Advisor for the Masters and Certificate Program in Global Surgical Care, and Associate Director of the Global Surgery Lab within the Department of Surgery at UBC.

Dr. Haji completed undergraduate studies followed by medical training at McMaster University. After graduating from medical school in 2008, he completed his neurosurgical residency at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. During residency, Dr. Haji obtained a PhD from the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto, alongside completing research fellowships at the Ronald R. Wilson Centre for Research in Education at UHN and the Learning Institute at the Hospital for Sick Children. His dissertation focused on the effect of fidelity, complexity and cognitive load on learning and transfer of procedural skills for novices engaged in simulation-based education. Upon completing neurosurgical residency and becoming a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 2018, Dr. Haji completed a postgraduate fellowship in pediatric neurological surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where his research focused on capacity development for postgraduate surgical training in resource-limited settings. After training, Dr. Haji spent two years as a pediatric and adult neurosurgeon at the Kingston Health Sciences Centre and Medical Education Scholar at Queen’s University. Dr. Haji’s academic interest is in health professions education, with his program of research focusing on three areas: (i) surgical education, including clinical reasoning, the integration of basic and clinical sciences in surgical training, and entrustment; (ii) the globalization of health professions education, including its implications for international medical graduates (IMGs) and learners, educational policy (e.g. related to admissions, certification, and accreditation), international collaborations, and the migration of pedagogical and assessment approaches (e.g, CBME); and (iii) optimizing the design of simulation-based education for medical and surgical skills training with particular focus on cognitive load and learner engagement.

Together with over 70 students and faculty from around the world who are members of the Global Surgery Lab at UBC, we conducted this study to provide guidelines for the development of ethical and sustainable global surgery partnerships (GSPs). Global Surgery has grown substantially since the publication of the 2015 Lancet Commission, which demonstrated that over two-thirds of the world’s population lack access to safe and affordable surgical and anesthetic care, the majority of whom live in the poorest and most resource-limited regions of the globe. The associated World Health Assembly Declarations 68.15 and 76.2 recognize access to safe, timely, and affordable surgical care as a critical component of Universal Health Coverage, and the integration of emergency, obstetric, and anesthetic care is essential to building resilient health systems.

In response to this unmet need, historically surgical care providers engaged in short-term “missions” to provide care in resource-constrained (often international) settings. Unfortunately, these activities are rooted in a colonial framework, where surgical providers from high-resource settings engage in short-term missions to provide surgical care to populations without adequate consideration of the ethics and sustainability of such work, particularly with respect to local culture, needs, and context. More recently, efforts to scale up surgical care in resource-constrained settings have focused on reciprocal, bidirectional partnerships between institutions and teams in High-Income Countries (HICs) and Low- and Low-Middle-Income Countries (LICs/LMICs) that centre around education and training, capacity development, and health systems strengthening. In an ongoing effort to decolonize Global Surgery, our lab engaged in this study in hopes of initiating a conversation around what ethical, sustainable GSPs look like.

Using a modified Delphi technique, we recruited 50 global surgery experts from 34 countries representing all six WHO regions to iteratively establish consensus around the definitions and evaluation metrics for six “pillars” of sustainable GSPs: Stakeholder Engagement, Multidisciplinary Collaboration, Context-Relevant Education and Training, Bilateral Authorship, Multisource Funding, and Outcome Measurement. The associated 47-item checklist achieved full consensus among the expert panel over three rounds of the Delphi process and can serve as a self-auditing tool and benchmark to ensure accountability for those funding and engaging in GSPs. Importantly, this work also furthered an important conversation among panelists, within our lab, and in the literature about knowledge-sharing, co-creation, and decolonization by working in solidarity with, and uplifting, local and Indigenous providers, knowledge, and healthcare practices around the world.

In an ongoing effort to further this work, we are actively involved in pilot testing and iteratively revising this framework with Global Surgery groups engaged in GSPs within Canada and around the world.

Defining a Framework and Evaluation Metrics for Sustainable Global Surgical Partnerships

Authors: Catherine J Binda, Jayd Adams, Rachel Livergant, Sheila Lam, Kapilan Panchendrabose, Shahrzad Joharifard, Faizal Haji & Emilie Joos 

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to use expert consensus to build a concrete and realistic framework and checklist to evaluate sustainability in global surgery partnerships (GSPs).

Background: Partnerships between high-resourced and low-resourced settings are often created to address the burden of unmet surgical need. Reflecting on the negative, unintended consequences of asymmetrical partnerships, global surgery community members have proposed frameworks and best practices to promote sustainable engagement between partners, though these frameworks lack consensus. This project proposes a cohesive, consensus-driven framework with accompanying evaluation metrics to guide sustainability in GSPs.

Methods: A modified Delphi technique with purposive sampling was used to build consensus on the definitions and associated evaluation metrics of previously proposed pillars (Stakeholder Engagement, Multidisciplinary Collaboration, Context-Relevant Education and Training, Bilateral Authorship, Multisource Funding, Outcome Measurement) of sustainable GSPs.

Results: Fifty global surgery experts from 34 countries with a median of 9.5 years of experience in the field of global surgery participated in 3 Delphi rounds. Consensus was achieved on the identity, definitions, and a 47-item checklist for the evaluation of the 6 pillars of sustainability in GSPs. In all, 29% of items achieved consensus in the first round, whereas 100% achieved consensus in the second and third rounds.

Conclusions: We present the first framework for building sustainable GSPs using the input of experts from all World Health Organization regions. We hope this tool will help the global surgery community to find noncolonial solutions to addressing the gap in access to quality surgical care in low-resource settings.

Have you’ve published or come across valuable research on the praxis of REDI in medicine? Share it today.

We especially welcome submissions of research articles that explore equity, diversity, inclusion, justice, decolonization, Indigenization, or trauma-informed practices in medicine and healthcare.

Celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities by taking part in upcoming events

Transforming Health for Everyone: Strengthening Medical Curriculum in an era of Truth, Reconciliation and Inclusion 

Join us virtually on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM (PT), for an It Starts With Us panel discussion exploring how curriculum in the Faculty of Medicine can better reflect Indigenization, decolonization, and inclusion. The session featured leaders and educators who are reimagining how we teach and learn to prepare future health professionals to serve BC’s diverse communities.

Topic | Transforming Health for Everyone: Strengthening Medical Curriculum in an era of Truth, Reconciliation and Inclusion 

Date: Wednesday, Nov 26th, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM (PT)

Live Stream & Recording | Register to receive the webcast link or access to the recording after the event.

Resources
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All REDI events are open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Speaker Bios

Derek K Thompson (He/Him) – Čaabať Bookwilla | Suhiltun
, Director, Indigenous Engagement

Derek K Thompson – Čaabať Bookwilla | Suhiltun is from the diitiidʔaaʔtx̣ – Ditidaht First Nation, one of fourteen Nuuchahnulth communities along the west coast of Vancouver Island. 

Derek is the Director, Indigenous Engagement for the UBC Faculty of Medicine, and he brings over 30 years of experience working with First Nations organizations and communities across the province and country to achieve wellness through health and related services. 

His mission is to foster trust and mutual respect amongst students, staff and faculty in an effort to create an understanding of the commitments made by the Faculty of Medicine to strengthen the relationship with Indigenous peoples and communities. 

Dr. Nadine Caron

Dr. Nadine Caron (She/her),
Professor, UBC Faculty of Medicine,
Co-Director, UBC Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health,
First Nations Health Authority Chair in Cancer and Wellness

Dr. Nadine Caron is a trailblazing surgeon, scholar, and advocate whose transformative leadership has reshaped the landscape of Indigenous health in Canada. A member of the Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, Dr. Caron made history as the first female First Nations graduate of the UBC Faculty of Medicine and the first female Indigenous general surgeon in Canada.

As co-director of the UBC Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health and a professor in the Department of Surgery and Northern Medical Program (delivered in partnership with the University of Northern British Columbia), Dr. Caron is dedicated to advancing culturally safe and equitable care across rural, remote, and Indigenous communities. Her work as a surgical oncologist in northern British Columbia has driven groundbreaking initiatives in cancer research, personalized medicine, and health-care delivery that address systemic health inequities.

In 2020, she was appointed the inaugural First Nations Health Authority Chair in Cancer and Wellness at UBC, where she is developing strategies to understand, prevent, and address cancer among Indigenous peoples. A co-founder of the UBC Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health and a leader in establishing the UBC Indigenous Public Health Program—Canada’s first Indigenous-focused graduate certificate in public health—Dr. Caron continues to shape national models for culturally informed medical education and practice.

She also directs the Northern BC BioBank Initiative, expanding opportunities for northern and Indigenous communities to participate in clinical and genomic research. Her affiliations include the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer and the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.

In 2025, Dr. Caron was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in recognition of her outstanding leadership and contributions to medicine and the health sciences—honouring a career devoted to equity, reconciliation, and improving health outcomes for Indigenous peoples and communities across Canada.

Lauren Casey

Lauren [llaanaay] Casey (any pronouns),
Educational Consultant: Anti-Racist and Indigenous Initiatives, Centre for Teaching, Learning & Technology

Lauren is Haida and Cree-Metis. Their paternal family is registered with Skidegate of the Haida Nation, of the Juus Clan from the Youngs and Collinsons and their maternal family are of mixed settler and Red River Metis descent. Family names include Desmarais, Clermont, and Delorme. Lauren’s involvement in the MMIWG movement has forged deep connections with urban Indigenous community particularly in the DTES where they continue to volunteer. Lauren is a strong advocate for liberatory justice that centers harm reduction, intersectional feminism and abolitionist teachings.

Lauren has over a decade of experience in public relations, not-for-profit governance, and front-line response specializing in sexual and gender-based violence response and prevention education. They grew up on the lands of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Stz’uminus, and Stolo, then moved to shared Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh territory to attend UBC in 2008 and have been a guest on these lands ever since and continue to build relationships with the host nations. Their studies included gender, race and social justice theory, and focused on psychology and creative writing. Lauren continues to volunteer within community, including their role as Chair of the Board of Directors of WISH Drop-In Centre, a not-for-profit in the DTES that offers support and advocacy for street-based sex workers grounded in the values of choice, dignity and respect. Additionally, they are the elected President of the Association of Administrative and Professional Staff (AAPS), representing 6,500 staff across both campuses of UBC. Lauren has worked at UBC for almost 8 years, previously at the Sauder School of Business and the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO).

Lauren has been with CTLT for almost 3 years, bringing an intersectional lens to curriculum design, professional development and conversations about classroom climate.

Dr. Rose Hatala (She/Her), MD, MSc, FRCPC,
Professor, Department of Medicine;
Director, Clinical Educator Fellowship, UBC;
Director, MHPE-Canada, Centre for Health Education Scholarship, UBC;
Former Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency Training

Dr. Rose Hatala is a general internist at St. Paul’s Hospital and a Professor in the Department of Medicine at UBC. She completed her clinical training, as well as her MSc focused on educational research, at McMaster University and was clerkship director for internal medicine.

Dr. Hatala came to UBC in 2003 and was the Associate Program Director for the UBC Internal Medicine Residency Program from 2005-2015. She is currently the co-chair of the RCPSC oral examination in internal medicine. Since September 2015, Dr. Hatala is the Director of the Centre for Health Education Scholarship’s (CHES’) Clinical Educator Fellowship. She has extensive front-line experience as a clinical educator for undergraduate and postgraduate learners, in addition to her experience with both in-training and high-stakes assessment methods.

Shannon Field (She/Her),
Indigenous Initiatives Manager, Department of Physical Therapy

Shannon Field (MSc.) is Red River Métis and mixed European. Shannon grew up on the beautiful ancestral, unceded lands of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking Musqueam people in Richmond, BC. Professionally, she has worked as a kinesiologist, group fitness leader, and worked in various government and health authority offices in the area of Indigenous health. She currently works as the Indigenous Initiatives Manager for the UBC Department of Physical Therapy, where she supports current and prospective Indigenous students, promotes education on anti-racism and Indigenous cultural safety, and advocates for the program to be more inclusive of Indigenous knowledges, histories, and experiences.

Description 

As part of REDI’s It Starts with Us series, we invite you to join us via livestream for a panel discussion on reimagining curriculum in the Faculty of Medicine. We will hear from colleagues and leaders who are asking: What does it mean to teach in a way that is truly inclusive, accountable, and rooted in justice and reconciliation?

Curriculum is more than a syllabus—it is also who teaches, how we teach, and the hidden curriculum that quietly tells learners what is valued and what is not. In many classrooms, we now see First Peoples Principles of Learning on the walls or elders invited in to share knowledge. These are powerful signs of change, yet sometimes they remain “tacked on,” while the deeper structures of colonization—like what counts as a core text or whose voices are centred—remain untouched.

In this discussion, panelists will share their experiences of weaving Indigenous knowledge, relationality, and reciprocity into teaching, and reflect on the challenges of shifting systems designed by regulatory and professional bodies. We will also pause to recognize the tremendous weight carried by Indigenous leaders—those who are the first generation in their families not to attend residential schools, yet who are now guiding institutions toward reconciliation while continuing to hold up their own communities.

The work of Indigenization and inclusion cannot rest on their shoulders alone. As this panel reminds us, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is for everyone. Together, we will explore how to move beyond one-off initiatives to create curricula that prepare health professionals not only to practice medicine, but to practice humility, pluralism, and accountability to the diverse communities they serve.

Moderators

Maï Yasué

Maï Yasué (She/Her),
Associate Director, REDI

Dr. Maï is the Associate Director of the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) in the Faculty of Medicine. She provides leadership to the REDI team in the development and delivery of our education and training programming. She collaborates with leaders in departments, centres, and administration units, and staff, and faculty to identify institutional and individual barriers to inclusion and to foster long-term socio-cultural change towards justice, equity, decolonization, indigenization, and inclusion (JEDII). Previously, she worked at the Equity & Inclusion Office at UBC, where she led initiatives such as the JEDII STEM Series and the IBPOC STEM Network and supported the integration of the JEDII principles into teaching, research, and faculty and staff recruitment. Prior to her work at UBC, she was a faculty member at Quest University Canada for over a decade, teaching interdisciplinary courses in conservation and geography and advocating for transparency, equity, and inclusion through various leadership roles.

Maï, a second-generation immigrant from Japan, holds an MSc in Zoology from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Geography from the University of Victoria. As an interdisciplinary scholar, she has published over 40 articles in academic fields such as conservation, geography, zoology, education, behavioral ecology, economics, and psychology. She is grateful for having spent most of her life on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Stó:lō Nations.

Madison Tardif

Madison Tardif (She/her),
Equity Advisor, REDI

Madison Tardif is an Equity Advisor at the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) within the Faculty of Medicine. In her capacity at REDI, she offers strategic guidance and supports capacity-building for department heads, faculty, staff, and students who are dedicated to implementing decolonization, anti-racism, and inclusive practices.

Resources

EDI Joint Interest Group

The EDI Joint Interest Group is a network for equity leads, EDI champions or any staff or faculty responsible for advancing or leading EDI initiatives in their unit, department, school or program. We meet monthly to discuss topics of interest.

EDI Joint Interest Group

Are you a faculty or staff member leading equity, inclusion, decolonization, and Indigenization initiatives within your unit? Would you benefit from a community of practice to discuss common challenges you face in your role? Join our monthly EDI Joint Interest Group or Drop in for a Session. Please click on the meeting titles below to learn more and register to receive the Zoom link for a particular session.

Subscribe to the EDI-JIG listserv

You can subscribe to the EDI-JIG listserv to receive communications for all upcoming sessions. To subscribe, email LISTSERV@LISTS.UBC.CA with “subscribe EDI-JIG@LISTS.UBC.CA” in the body of your email (without any other content, including your signature). If you are having trouble subscribing, email redi.events@ubc.ca. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Upcoming EDI Joint Interest Group Monthly Topics:

2025-2026 Sessions

Beyond punishment: A Motivational Framework for Addressing Complaints with  Maï Yasué, and Madison Tardif
Dec 15th, 2025, Session time: 1:00-2:30 PM PT (Zoom)

In this session, we will explore how we can move beyond punitive complaints processes to address JEDII-related conflicts through restorative, Self-Determination Theory–based approaches that foster healing, accountability, and meaningful institutional learning. 

Register for Dec 15th, 2025

Speakers:

Maï Yasué

Dr. Maï Yasué (She/her),
Associate Director, Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Maï is the Associate Director of the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) in the Faculty of Medicine. She provides leadership to the REDI team in the development and delivery of our education and training programming. She collaborates with leaders in departments, centres, and administration units, and staff, and faculty to identify institutional and individual barriers to inclusion and to foster long-term socio-cultural change towards justice, equity, decolonization, indigenization, and inclusion (JEDII). Previously, she worked at the Equity & Inclusion Office at UBC, where she led initiatives such as the JEDII STEM Series and the IBPOC STEM Network and supported the integration of the JEDII principles into teaching, research, and faculty and staff recruitment. Prior to her work at UBC, she was a faculty member at Quest University Canada for over a decade, teaching interdisciplinary courses in conservation and geography and advocating for transparency, equity, and inclusion through various leadership roles.

Maï, a second-generation immigrant from Japan, holds an MSc in Zoology from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Geography from the University of Victoria. As an interdisciplinary scholar, she has published over 40 articles in academic fields such as conservation, geography, zoology, education, behavioral ecology, economics, and psychology. She is grateful for having spent most of her life on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Stó:lō Nations.

Madison Tardif

Madison Tardif (She/Her/Hers)
Equity Advisor, Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Madison Tardif is an Equity Advisor at the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) within the Faculty of Medicine. In her capacity at REDI, offers strategic guidance and supports capacity-building for department heads, faculty, staff, and students who are dedicated to implementing decolonization, anti-racism, and inclusive practices.

Madison’s journey into this field was influenced by her own multiracial background, sparking her exploration of identity, power dynamics, privilege, and systems of oppression. While pursuing her graduate degree at the University of Toronto, she delved deeper into the realms of community engagement, systems change, and decolonization. Her research primarily revolved around policy and decision-making within Indigenous self-governments, providing her with profound insights into leadership, community-centered decision-making, and decolonial approaches to governance. This research also played a pivotal role in her work with the Syilx (Okanagan) Nation at Westbank First Nation, where she contributed to the development of policy for the Intergovernmental Affairs and Title and Rights department. This experience underscored the significance of Indigenous sovereignty and the right to self-determination, shaping her passionate commitment to human rights, community-building, justice, conflict engagement, equity, decolonization, indigenization, and anti-racism.

In her previous role at the Equity and Inclusion Office, Madison actively supported the establishment of staff and faculty affinity spaces, the enhancement of hiring standards at the faculty and unit levels, and the creation of educational resources and workshops aimed at empowering historically, persistently, and systemically marginalized (HPSM) groups within UBC. Before joining UBC, Madison served at BC Cancer as the Prostate Cancer Supportive Care Coordinator, where she oversaw prostate cancer patient support for the BC Interior region. Through this experience, she gained firsthand knowledge of how patient-centered and holistic approaches to support can empower HPSM individuals to advocate for themselves and their well-being.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Madison enjoys mountain biking, spending time outdoors with her dog, savoring live music, relishing delicious cuisine, and fostering a sense of community.

Madison is grateful to be a guest on the territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and the Syilx (Okanagan) Nation.

Exploring AI Through an Equity Lens: Conversation about opportunities, Risks, and Realities in Academic Medicine with Alexandra Chen, Governance, Strategy and Planning Manager in Digital Solutions & Grainne McElroy, Deputy Chief Information Officer
Nov 17th, 2025, Session time: 1:00-2:30 PM PT (Zoom)

Artificial intelligence is increasingly shaping how we teach, hire, evaluate, provide care, and advance equity and inclusion across the Faculty of Medicine. As EDI leads, many of us are beginning to see both opportunities and challenges — from improving accessibility, efficiency, and reducing bias to addressing concerns about data ethics, the erosion of human relationships, and inequities in automated decision-making.

This EDI JIG facilitated by Alexandra Chen (She/They), Governance, Strategy and Planning Manager in Digital Solutions & Grainne McElroy (She/her), Deputy Chief Information Officer, invites participants to learn from one another about how AI is shaping our work, the possibilities it brings, and the risks it poses for historically, systemically, and persistently marginalized groups. Together, we’ll explore how to navigate these changes thoughtfully and collaboratively so that emerging technologies strengthen, rather than undermine, our commitments to equity and inclusion.

Register for Nov 17th, 2025

Alexandra Chen (she/they),

Alexandra Chen (she/they),
Manager, Digital Solutions, FoM

Alexandra Chen (she/they), is a Manager at the UBC Faculty of Medicine Digital Solutions, merging their business analysis background with a focus on strategic planning and governance. Outside of work, Alex volunteers on non-profit boards related to media arts or community building. And when they’re not doing that, you can find them playing with their dog Juno and reading memoirs and science-fiction books.

Grainne McElroy

Grainne McElroy (she/her),
Chief Information Officer, FoM

Grainne McElroy (she/her) is the Chief Information Officer for the Faculty of Medicine at UBC, where she leads digital strategy, technology operations, and cybersecurity across the Faculty. Starting out in life as an engineer, her long career in IT has spanned engineering, transportation, global food production and higher education.

Mother of two grown and (almost) flown daughters, on the weekends you can find her forest bathing or trail running in the Pacific Spirit Park.

Breaking Down Silos: Connecting over EDI Journeys with Madison Tardif
Oct 20th, 2025, Session time: 1:00-2:30 PM PT (Zoom)

An informal conversation to connect with colleagues on your unit’s EDI journey. Bring questions about actioning EDI, share updates on what you’re working on this year, and reflect on achievements you’re proud of and challenges you’ve faced. Together, we’ll exchange stories and strategies, and explore ways to collaborate and inspire action.

Register for Oct 20th, 2025

Speaker:

Madison Tardif

Madison Tardif (She/Her/Hers)
Equity Advisor, Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Madison Tardif is an Equity Advisor at the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) within the Faculty of Medicine. In her capacity at REDI, offers strategic guidance and supports capacity-building for department heads, faculty, staff, and students who are dedicated to implementing decolonization, anti-racism, and inclusive practices.

Madison’s journey into this field was influenced by her own multiracial background, sparking her exploration of identity, power dynamics, privilege, and systems of oppression. While pursuing her graduate degree at the University of Toronto, she delved deeper into the realms of community engagement, systems change, and decolonization. Her research primarily revolved around policy and decision-making within Indigenous self-governments, providing her with profound insights into leadership, community-centered decision-making, and decolonial approaches to governance. This research also played a pivotal role in her work with the Syilx (Okanagan) Nation at Westbank First Nation, where she contributed to the development of policy for the Intergovernmental Affairs and Title and Rights department. This experience underscored the significance of Indigenous sovereignty and the right to self-determination, shaping her passionate commitment to human rights, community-building, justice, conflict engagement, equity, decolonization, indigenization, and anti-racism.

In her previous role at the Equity and Inclusion Office, Madison actively supported the establishment of staff and faculty affinity spaces, the enhancement of hiring standards at the faculty and unit levels, and the creation of educational resources and workshops aimed at empowering historically, persistently, and systemically marginalized (HPSM) groups within UBC. Before joining UBC, Madison served at BC Cancer as the Prostate Cancer Supportive Care Coordinator, where she oversaw prostate cancer patient support for the BC Interior region. Through this experience, she gained firsthand knowledge of how patient-centered and holistic approaches to support can empower HPSM individuals to advocate for themselves and their well-being.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Madison enjoys mountain biking, spending time outdoors with her dog, savoring live music, relishing delicious cuisine, and fostering a sense of community.

Madison is grateful to be a guest on the territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and the Syilx (Okanagan) Nation.

Not Just a One-Off: Weaving Anti-Oppression, Indigenization & Decolonization into Curriculum in the FoM with Maï Yasué
Sep 15th, 2025, Session time: 1:00-2:30 PM PT (Zoom)

Welcome back! Join us for the first EDI Leads session of the academic year—a space to reconnect, reflect, and re-energize. This session will focus on practical strategies for embedding anti-oppression, Indigenization, and decolonization into both clinical and classroom teaching across the Faculty of Medicine. Together, we’ll explore a new draft resource designed to support curriculum and learning environment change. Come ready to share your ideas, questions, and lived experiences, and build community with fellow EDI change-makers across FoM.

Register for Sep 15th, 2025

Speaker:

Maï Yasué

Dr. Maï Yasué (She/her),
Associate Director, Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Maï is the Associate Director of the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) in the Faculty of Medicine. She provides leadership to the REDI team in the development and delivery of our education and training programming. She collaborates with leaders in departments, centres, and administration units, and staff, and faculty to identify institutional and individual barriers to inclusion and to foster long-term socio-cultural change towards justice, equity, decolonization, indigenization, and inclusion (JEDII). Previously, she worked at the Equity & Inclusion Office at UBC, where she led initiatives such as the JEDII STEM Series and the IBPOC STEM Network and supported the integration of the JEDII principles into teaching, research, and faculty and staff recruitment. Prior to her work at UBC, she was a faculty member at Quest University Canada for over a decade, teaching interdisciplinary courses in conservation and geography and advocating for transparency, equity, and inclusion through various leadership roles.

Maï, a second-generation immigrant from Japan, holds an MSc in Zoology from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Geography from the University of Victoria. As an interdisciplinary scholar, she has published over 40 articles in academic fields such as conservation, geography, zoology, education, behavioral ecology, economics, and psychology. She is grateful for having spent most of her life on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Stó:lō Nations.

2024-2025 Sessions

Calling In vs. Calling Out: Navigating Accountability with Compassion with Mary Kostandy
June 2nd, 2025, Session time: 1:00-2:30 PM PT (Zoom)

In the lead-up to the June 10 symposium featuring Loretta Ross—author of Calling In—as our keynote discussant, this upcoming EDI JIG session will explore the difference between calling in and calling out.

Guest Speaker:

Mary Kostandy, PhD (she/her),
Digital Content and Engagement Strategist, REDI

Mary is the Digital Content and Engagement Strategist in the Faculty of Medicine Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Mary brings to this role her education and work experience, which lie at the intersection of Computer Science, Education, and Social Justice. She has a PhD in Educational Studies from UBC. Her doctoral research followed a digital movement of Egyptian teachers on Facebook using a social justice lens to analyze teachers’ calls for moral, material and legal justice. Mary’s MA is in International and Comparative Education, and her BSc is in Computer Science, both from the American University in Cairo (AUC), Egypt. Mary has extensive teaching experience. She worked as a sessional instructor in the UBC Faculty of Education Teacher Education Program (BEd) where she taught several courses including “EDST 401: Ethics and Teaching,” “EDST 403: Education, Knowledge and Curriculum,” “EDST 401: Education, School, and Social Institutions,” and “EPSE 310A: Assessment and Learning in the Classroom.”

Besides teaching, Mary led the Diverse Career Paths of Educational Studies (EDST) Alumni initiative which aimed to expand the notion of inclusion to include diverse career pathways. As the PI, Mary worked with a team of faculty, staff, students and alumni to draw on Educational Studies alumni’s career experiences to support graduate students in exploring diverse careers.

Register for June 2nd, 2025

Fostering Inclusive Admissions in PGME with Special Guests Rebecca Howse, Rose Hatala & Saleem Razack
May 12th, 2025, Session time: 12:30-2:00 PM PT (Zoom)

Rebecca Howse, Rose Hatala, and Saleem Razack, REDI Senior Faculty Advisor, will join us for an informal and candid conversation facilitated by Maï Yasué, REDI Associate Director. We’ll explore inclusive practices in PGME admissions. Dr. Hatala will also share insights from her work in onboarding and supporting Indigenous fellows.

Guest Speakers:

Rebecca Howse (She/They), MD, CCFP,

Rebecca Howse (She/They), MD, CCFP,
Indigenous Health Curriculum Lead, UBC, Undergraduate Medical Education;
Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Faculty Co-Lead, UBC PGME;
Family Physician, PCFSA Westshore Community Health Centre;
Addictions Physician and Pathway Co-Lead, FNHA Virtual Substance Use and Psychiatry Program

Rose Hatala (She/Her), MD, MSc, FRCPC,

Rose Hatala (She/Her), MD, MSc, FRCPC,
Professor, Department of Medicine;
Director, Clinical Educator Fellowship, UBC;
Director, MHPE-Canada, Centre for Health Education Scholarship, UBC;
Former Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency Training

Register for May 12th, 2025 (Note the different start time: 12:30)

Experiences Embedding the Indigenous Strategic Plan into FoM Units with Katherine Wisener, and Jennifer McKay
April 14th, 2025, Session time: 1:00-2:30 PM PT (Zoom)

Katherine Wisener, Associate Director, Faculty Development, and Jennifer McKay, Instructional Designer, Faculty Development will share their experience integrating the Indigenous Strategic Plan into their unit. Maï Yasué, REDI Associate Director and session facilitator, will invite participants to discuss and reflect on experiences from their own units.

Guest Speakers:

Katherine Wisener (She/her),

Katherine Wisener, PhD (she/her),
Associate Director, Faculty Development

Katherine holds a PhD in Health Professions Education through Maastricht University where her research focused on how health professions programs can effectively support and motivate faculty who teach. She also holds an MA from UBC’s Faculty of Education. She is inspired by the thousands of faculty members who go above and beyond to teach learners in UBC’s Faculty of Medicine, and is passionate about providing meaningful supports to help recognize their teaching efforts. 

While “spare time” is rare with two young active sons, she loves trail running in BC’s beautiful mountains. 

Jennifer McKay (She/her),

Jennifer McKay (she/her),
Instructional Designer, Faculty Development

Jennifer is an Instructional Designer with the Office of Faculty Development at UBC. She holds a B.A. in Socio-Cultural Anthropology and Sociology from the University of Toronto, and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Educational Technology (MET) at the University of British Columbia to explore her passions for eLearning, open-education, and incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing into course design. Her professional background includes program management, event coordination, and visual design. Jennifer strives to develop engaging, technology-enhanced learning resources for faculty development and health education through inclusive instructional design. Outside of her professional and academic pursuits, Jennifer enjoys video games, cooking, and making art.

Register for April 14th, 2025

Tough Times for EDI Work: Finding Opportunities in these Troubled Times with Special Guests Minelle Mahtani & Saleem Razack
March 10th, 2025, Session time: 1:00-2:30 PM PST (Zoom)

Minelle Mahtani, Chair of Canadian Studies, & former Senior Advisor to the Provost on Racialized Faculty, and Saleem Razack, REDI Senior Faculty Advisor, will join us for an informal and candid conversation facilitated by Maï Yasué, REDI Associate Director. We’ll discuss the challenges of doing EDI work, and explore strategies and approaches that can help us work toward creating change, practice self-care, and find ways to keep moving forward.

Pre-reading: How to Quit Your EDI Job in 10 Easy Steps by Minelle Mahtani

Register for March 10th, 2025

Human Rights and Systems Reform: Lessons Learned from Hale v UBCO with Special Guest Dylan Robinson
Feb 3rd, 2025, Session time: 1:00-2:30 PM PST (Zoom)

Dylan Robinson, Investigations Office, will share lessons learned from Hale v UBCO.

Please note that, due to unforeseen circumstances, Carly Stanhope, Director of Investigations, will no longer be able to join as a guest speaker.

Register for February 3rd, 2025 

Q&A on the Learner Mistreatment Process
January 13th, 2025, Session time: 1:00-2:30 PM PST (Zoom)

Maï Yasué, REDI Associate Director, and Robyn Campol, REDI Learning Environment Advisor, will co-facilitate a session on demystifying the Learner Mistreatment Process. In this session, they will share updates made to the Learner Mistreatment website and outline the most recently revised learner mistreatment process. They will address questions such as: What is the learner mistreatment process? How do learner disclosures contribute to a more inclusive learning environment? How do the roles of faculty, staff, and leaders intersect with this process? There will also be time to for questions and concerns from units about the process.

Register for January 13th, 2025 

Supporting Connection, Capacity, and Choice During Challenging Disclosures
December 16th, 2024, Session time: 1:00-2:30 PM PST (Zoom)

Maï Yasué, REDI Associate Director, and Madison Tardif, REDI Equity Advisor, will co-facilitate a session on how EDI leads, faculty, staff, and learners can support individuals seeking guidance in navigating challenging interpersonal situations related to equity, inclusion, decolonization, and Indigenization. The session will explore strategies to validate experiences, de-escalate situations, and empower individuals to consider the range of options available to them.

Register for December 16th, 2024

EDI in Research
November 18th, 2024, Session time: 1:00-2:00 PM PST, Office Hours: 2:00-2:30 PM PST (Zoom)

Maï Yasué, Associate Director, REDI, will facilitate a session on how to go beyond merely checking off a “diversity statement” and instead embed principles of equity, justice, decolonization, Indigenization, and inclusion into every stage of the research process—from formulating research questions to sharing results. Discover actionable strategies to embed EDI principles meaningfully in your work, ensuring that your research is inclusive and reflective of these principles. 

Pre-reading | REDI Best Practices: Embedding EDI in Research

Register for November 18th, 2024

Postponed to the Spring: Human Rights and Systems Reform: Lessons Learned from Hale v UBCO
Original Date: October 21st, 2024, Session time: 1:00-2:00 PM PST (Zoom)

This event has been postponed to the Spring. There is no session in October.
Carly Stanhope, Director of Investigations, Investigations Office, will share lessons learned from Hale v UBCO.

Departmental EDI Committees: Navigating Tensions and Opportunities
September 16th, 2024, Session time: 1:00-2:00 PM PST, Office Hours: 2:00-2:30 PM PST (Zoom)

Maï Yasué, Associate Director, REDI, will facilitate a session on the scope of departmental EDI Committees and provide a platform for sharing lessons learned from their initial years of operation. Whether you’re just starting out or have a well-established committee, this session is your chance to engage, and ask questions. Members of newer EDI committees will benefit from guidance on early challenges, while members of experienced EDI committees can share their insights and secrets to success.

Register for September 16th, 2024

Trauma-informed practices
August 12th, 2024, Session time: 1:00-2:00 PM PST, Office Hours: 2:00-2:30 PM PST (Zoom)

Madison Tardif, Equity Advisor, REDI will lead a session on trauma informed practices.

Register for August 12th, 2024

Facilitating short EDI sessions for your team
July 8th, 2024, Session time: 1:00-2:00 PM, Office Hours: 2:00-2:30 PM PST (Zoom)

Maï Yasué, Associate Director, REDI, will provide “train-the-trainer” support for the EDI leads within units to facilitate 5-10 minute EDI speed lessons for their units or teams. This could be suitable for the start of grand rounds, faculty, or team meetings and will help you embed EDI into your regular practices. For topic examples, refer to REDI Best Practices, REDI Grab ‘n’ Gos, and REDI Deep Dives.

Optional office hours after the session provides an opportunity to stay longer and ask questions in smaller group settings.

Register for July 8th, 2024

2023-2024 Sessions

Tips and tricks for managing power dynamics in meetings
June 10th, 2024, Session time: 1:00-2:00 PM, Office Hours: 2:00-2:30 PM PST (Zoom)

Maï Yasué, Associate Director, REDI, will lead a session on inclusive chairing practices designed to mitigate power imbalances and enhance accessibility.

Optional office hours after the session provides an opportunity to stay longer and ask questions in smaller group settings.

Register for June 10th, 2024

Strategies to motivate members of dominant groups to action EDI
May 13th, 2024, Session time: 1:00-2:00 PM, Office Hours: 2:00-2:30 PM PST (Zoom)

Maï Yasué, Associate Director, REDI, will facilitate a discussion on strategies for fostering autonomous motivation—behaving because one truly values and identifies with the behaviour, or finds it inherently satisfying—which is crucial for inspiring lasting change. In this session, we will explore key principles that can drive behavioural change in a self-sustained manner, even without external rewards or pressure.

Optional office hours after the session provides an opportunity to stay longer and ask questions in smaller group settings.

Register for May 13th, 2024

Q&A Session
April 22nd, 2024, 1:00-2:00 PM (Zoom)

Maï Yasué, Associate Director, REDI, will facilitate an open-ended session featuring a Q&A format and small group discussions. Participants will have the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas and questions on various previously covered topics, including admissions, faculty hiring, conflict engagement, creating inclusive environments for historically marginalized groups, and tips for engaging others in EDI initiatives, as well as initiating action within EDI committees.

Register for April 22nd, 2024

De-escalating intergroup conflicts
March 11th, 2024, 1:00-2:00 PM (Zoom)

Arun Mohan, Director of Human Rights at the Equity & Inclusion Office, will help answer questions about what EDI leads and unit heads can do to de-escalate intergroup conflict and provide support when there are global events and tragedies that affect the learning and work environments.

Register for March 11th, 2024

Continuing our conversation on “inclusive excellence,” how do we pursue it in our hiring and recruitment processes?
Feb 12th, 2024, 1:00-2:00 PM (Zoom)

Questions that we might address include: How can we inclusively and equitably adjudicate excellence in hiring, selections, and award decisions? What are the most important changes in procedures that we can make to foster more inclusive and equitable selection processes? How do we best frame these changes in process or criteria to avoid backlash and support historically marginalized groups?

Our special guest for this session will be Saleem Razack, who is the Senior Faculty Advisor to the REDI Office. This session is a follow-up conversation from the January 2024 meeting with Saleem Razack and the November 2023 meeting with Catherine Macala.

How do we operationalize “inclusive excellence” in all the different adjudication/selection/awards decisions that we make?
Jan 8th, 2024, 1:00-2:00 PM (Zoom)

Questions that we might address include: If grades, volunteering experiences, journal impact factors, and student evaluations of teaching are sexist/ableist/racist, etc., then how do we inclusively and equitably adjudicate excellence in hiring, selections, and award decisions? What are the most important changes in procedures that we can make to have more inclusive and equitable selection processes? How do we best frame these changes in process or criteria to avoid backlash and support historically marginalized groups?

Our special guest for this session will be Saleem Razack, who is the Senior Faculty Advisor to the REDI Office and has extensive experience working within medical school admissions processes. This session is a follow-up conversation from the meeting in November 2023 that Catherine Macala (Associate Director MD Undergraduate Admissions) led about equity and inclusion considerations in the undergraduate admissions process.

How do we create supports for historically marginalized learners to thrive within the Faculty of Medicine?
Dec 11th, 2023, 1:00-2:00 PM (Zoom)

In this session, we aim to discuss various initiatives within units in the FoM designed to support historically, persistently, and systemically marginalized groups. Specifically, Tal Jarus will talk about the mentorship program for learners with disabilities within Occupational Science and Therapy, as well as the Diversifying Health and Human Service Professions Education – D-HOPE Program. This program aims to support historically marginalized students in applying for Health Professions at UBC by providing resources and creating opportunities for mentorship and connection.

Inclusive Excellence & Students – Admissions, Student Awards
Nov, 2023 (Zoom)

“Broadening the Tent” – Inspiring others to get involved, getting buy-in from the broader unit
Oct, 2023 (Zoom)

Research Voices from the Field with Rola Ajjawi

Research Voices from the Field with Rola Ajjawi

Research Voices from the Field is a new feature that showcases cutting-edge research that breaks barriers and promotes inclusion in medicine. Each edition spotlights a research publication and includes insights directly from the authors—revealing their motivations, the significance of their findings, and why the research matters for healthcare professionals everywhere.

In this edition, Rola Ajjawi, Professor of Medical Education in the Department of Surgery and Associate Director (Research) at the UBC Centre for Health Education Scholarship, reflects on why she co-authored “Reflections on four theoretical perspectives of belonging” and how it can be relevant to medical education.

Rola Ajjawi

In this edition, Rola Ajjawi, Professor of Medical Education in the Department of Surgery and Associate Director (Research) at the UBC Centre for Health Education Scholarship, reflects on why she co-authored “Reflections on four theoretical perspectives of belonging” and how it can be relevant to medical education.

Read Rola Ajjawi’s bio

Rola Ajjawi PhD, BAppSc(Physio)(Hons)

Rola Ajjawi is a Professor of Medical Education in the Department of Surgery and a Scientist, as well as the Associate Director (Research) at the UBC Centre for Health Education Scholarship. She studied physiotherapy and became a clinical teacher before completing a PhD in health professions education examining how clinical reasoning is learned and communicated in practice. She is an international research expert in workplace learning, including research on clinical supervision, feedback, equity in assessment, and belonging. She was awarded a Karolinska Institutet Fellowship in 2021 in recognition of her medical education research. Rola is Chair of the International Association for Health Professions Education (AMEE) Research Committee and incoming Editor-in-Chief of Medical Education.

Kevin, Ian, and I wrote this paper because we realized that while promoting student belonging was high on institutions’ radars, not everyone shared the same understanding of what belonging means. We were also concerned that a naïve focus on belonging might encourage assimilation, leading students to mask or erase aspects of who they are and what matters to them. In other words, overemphasizing belonging could be harmful for some students.

A sense of belonging plays a vital role in students’ motivation, learning, wellbeing, and persistence. Yet, the term is used in many different ways, often without considering what we actually mean by it. In this paper, we explore four ways of thinking about belonging to offer greater clarity and inspire new ways of supporting students in today’s evolving health education environments.

The psychological view treats belonging as a basic human need met through frequent, positive interactions. The socio-ecological perspective highlights how belonging is shaped by both individuals and their environments. The political perspective focuses on power—who is included, who is excluded, and at what cost. The relational view sees belonging as fluid and continually negotiated through everyday interactions.

Together, these perspectives remind us that belonging is complex—sometimes enabling, sometimes constraining. Rather than treating it as something we can simply “build,” educators should notice how belonging is experienced, encouraged, or resisted in daily practice, and consider how we might create spaces that value difference and connection in multiple, authentic ways.

Our key take-home messages are:

  • We all play a part in creating spaces where students feel seen, valued, and free to be themselves.
  • Belonging means different things depending on how you look at it — it’s not one-size-fits-all.
  • It’s shaped by people, places, and power, not just by students’ motivation.
  • Trying to make everyone “fit in” can do more harm than good.
  • Belonging often happens in small, everyday moments — a smile, a chat, recognition.

Reflections on Four Theoretical Perspectives of Belonging

Authors: Rola Ajjawi, Kevin Eva & Ian Scott 

Abstract

Student belonging is associated with motivation, persistence, scholarly success and wellbeing. There is considerable variability, however, in how belonging is understood that has largely gone unacknowledged. This variability can be problematic because the perspective through which belonging is viewed gives rise to different policies and practices. As medical schools evolve through more integration of educational technology, creation of distributed campuses, and shifting student demographics, we need to rethink how such changes will influence belonging. To that end, in this Reflections paper, we seek to produce conceptual clarity by outlining four theoretical perspectives (psychological, socio-ecological, political and relational) with respect to when and how belonging is defined along with how they might inform application to medical education. We identify key authors and review papers from within each perspective, describing how belonging was defined, its boundaries, and key ideas offered. While there is considerable overlap among some perspectives, we highlight distinctions and connect them to relevant medical education literature to draw out their implications. The psychological perspective identifies belonging as a motivational need. The socio-ecological perspective recognizes belonging as a feeling that is dynamic and enabled through interactions with different aspects of the social milieu. The political perspective examines the intersection of two domains, the personal and the political, to understand who has the power to grant belonging and how that intersects with personal feelings of belonging. The relational perspective orients to everyday practices and the dynamic negotiation of relations among people. We hope this paper helps to orient the field towards multiple, nuanced and productive perspectives on belonging.

Have you’ve published or come across valuable research on the praxis of REDI in medicine? Share it today.

We especially welcome submissions of research articles that explore equity, diversity, inclusion, justice, decolonization, Indigenization, or trauma-informed practices in medicine and healthcare.

Anti-Racism in Health Professions Education Modules

Anti-racism Modules

Welcome

The Anti-Racism in Health Professions Education modules were developed to encourage self-reflection, increase awareness, and inspire action towards anti-racism within health professions education. While the modules were created for faculty and residents in Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME), their wider use in the Faculty of Medicine is welcomed, as much of the content is applicable to other medical and health professional contexts. They are interactive, self-paced, and designed to take a total of approximately 2.5 hours depending on pre-existing knowledge and levels of interest. Eligible learners may earn up to 2.5 CPD credits upon completion of these modules.

Scenarios are presented as slices of life, intended to open an exploration of some general ways that racism can be experienced differently by different individuals and groups. They are not intended to be representative of the experiences of all faculty, learners, settings, manifestations of systemic racism, or experiences within health professions education and the healthcare system. Videos with insights from health professionals and anti-racism experts, learning activities, and curated resources are provided to help you explore each scenario.

We intend to add to the four modules currently available. In the meantime, there are additional resources related to racism on the Equity & Inclusion Office website as well as the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. For faculty looking to build their teaching skills related to these topics, please visit the Faculty Development Office website.

Modules

Module 1: Introduction to Anti-Racism in Health Professions Education

Module 2: Anti-Indigenous Racism in Health Professions Education

Module 3: Anti-Black Racism in Health Professions Education

Module 3: Anti-Black Racism in Health Professions Education

Module 4: Conclusion

Module 4: Conclusion

Group and Relational Settings
These modules are designed so they can be completed individually. Research also shows that learning in groups with peers helps reinforce concepts. Dr. Rebecca Howse and Dr. Leona Adams, the PGME Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion leads have developed Academic Half Day sessions to build on the content of these modules in a synchronous format. Please reach out to pgme.aredi@ubc.ca for more information.

Finally, outside of PGME residents, the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) in the UBC Faculty of Medicine may be able to provide guidance or facilitation support if groups would prefer to complete these sessions in discussion-based group settings. To contact REDI, submit a service request or email redi.med@ubc.ca.

Accreditation

The Division of Continuing Professional Development, University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine (UBC CPD) is fully accredited by the Continuing Medical Education Accreditation Committee (CACME) to provide CPD credits for physicians. This activity is an Accredited Self-Assessment Program (Section 3) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by UBC CPD. You may claim a maximum of 2.5 hours (credits are automatically calculated). This activity meets the certification criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and has been certified by UBC CPD for up to 2.5 Mainpro+® Certified Activity credits. Each physician should claim only those credits accrued through participation in the activity.

SAP ID: 00018141

CFPC Session ID: 302065-001 

We Are the Change We Seek: Leading Indigenous Health in British Columbia

Join us virtually on Wednesday, January 14th, 2026, from 12:00 – 3:00 PM (PT), for an Indigenous Speakers Series session featuring Indigenous Vice Presidents from Northern Health, Interior Health, Fraser Health, Vancouver Coastal Health, Island Health, and the Provincial Health Services Authority. They will share how Indigenous leadership is transforming health systems across B.C.—advancing Cultural Safety, Humility, and Truth and Reconciliation. Learn how Indigenous voices at the executive level are reshaping policy, addressing racism and discrimination, and creating lasting change for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples across the province.

We Are the Change We Seek: Leading Indigenous Health in British Columbia

Topic | We Are the Change We Seek: Leading Indigenous Health in British Columbia

Date: Wednesday, January 14th, 2026

Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM (PT)

Live Stream & Recording | Register to receive the webcast link or access to the recording after the event.

Register
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All REDI events are open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Speaker Bio

Amanda Laboucane,

Amanda Laboucane,
Interim Vice President, Indigenous Health and Cultural Safety, Fraser Health,
Citizen of the Métis Nation

Amanda LaBoucane is a Métis citizen and mother of two strong Métis–Ojibwe daughters. Born and raised on Coast Salish lands, she has lived and worked in Indigenous communities in both rural and urban settings.

The importance of preserving cultural teachings and traditions in all aspects of daily life inspires Amanda’s commitment to embedding Indigenous cultural safety and humility into health care. Her work focuses on transforming the health-care system to address Indigenous-specific racism through strength, determination, political acumen, kindness, and heart.

Amanda joined Fraser Health in 2017 and currently serves as the organization’s Interim Vice President of Indigenous Health. Her leadership within the Indigenous Health portfolio unites an exceptional team delivering clinical services and advancing Indigenous cultural safety programming and education across the health authority.

She holds a Master of Public Health from Simon Fraser University and a Bachelor of Science from the University of the Fraser Valley. Amanda is completing her Master of Business Administration at Simon Fraser University and is a past member of the Canadian College of Health Leaders.

Dawn Thomas - Aa ap waa iik,

Dawn Thomas – Aa ap waa iik,
Vice President, Indigenous Health and Rural & Remote, Island Health,
Member of the Snuneymuxw First Nation

Dawn Thomas is a proud member of the Snuneymuxw First Nation on Vancouver Island. Her traditional Nuu-chah-nulth name is Aa ap waa iik, which loosely translates to “The one who says the right words about chiefly business.”

Dawn joined Island Health in June 2020 and is responsible for enabling and facilitating system transformation and service delivery improvements that enhance the wellness, health, and care provided to all Indigenous peoples across the Island Health service area, including First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and non-status Indigenous peoples—both on and off reserve. She is also instrumental in leading the organization’s cultural humility journey, supporting continuous growth, and fostering cultural safety at all levels.

In 2021, Dawn was seconded to the Ministry of Health as the Interim Associate Deputy Minister (ADM) of Indigenous Health and Reconciliation. She was the first Indigenous woman to hold this senior role within the provincial government and played a key role in introducing the In Plain Sight report and its recommendations into the ministry’s work. Her leadership in the province’s and the B.C. health system’s initial response to In Plain Sight, the relationships she developed during this time, and the Indigenous-led and informed practices she brings back to Island Health continue to guide and advance efforts to address Indigenous-specific racism.

As Vice President, Dawn engages with a wide range of senior internal and external partners to foster effective partnerships and create the conditions for culturally safe service delivery. She leads the organization’s approach to culturally informed governance and decision-making, partnering with Indigenous communities to develop and implement progressive, relevant, and culturally safe policies and practices for both patients and Indigenous staff.

Dawn brings more than 20 years of experience working with Indigenous children, families, communities, and leadership to Island Health. She previously held senior leadership positions with the B.C. government at the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the Office of the Representative for Children and Youth, where she served as Deputy Representative.

She holds a Master of Arts in Dispute Resolution and a Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Care, both from the University of Victoria.

Joe Gallagher - k’ʷunəmɛn,

Joe Gallagher – k’ʷunəmɛn,
Vice President, Indigenous Health and Cultural Safety, Provincial Health Services Authority,
Member of the Tla’amin First Nation

Joe Gallagher guides the further development and evolution of PHSA’s Indigenous Health and Cultural Safety Strategy, leads the delivery of cultural safety and humility education, and supports PHSA’s Indigenous Health and Human Resources Plan.

Joe is Coast Salish from the Tla’amin First Nation and has made extraordinary contributions to B.C.’s health-care system over the course of his career. He was the founding Chief Executive Officer of the First Nations Health Authority—the first and only health authority of its kind in Canada—and served as CEO from 2009 to 2019. Prior to this role, Joe held senior leadership positions in several governmental and First Nations organizations, working in areas such as health care, community development, economic development, and intergovernmental affairs.

A recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal, Joe holds an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) from the University of Victoria and has provided executive-level consulting support to B.C. health regulatory colleges and other institutions as they work to address Indigenous-specific racism and advance cultural safety and humility in health-care settings. He also co-authored Now You Know Me: Seeing the Unhidden Truth in Settler Colonialism, received a Leadership in Quality Award from Health Quality BC, and most recently was honoured with the Trail Blazer Award from Native Education College.

Leslie Varley - T’en De-entkwill Allugigat,

Leslie Varley – T’en De-entkwill Allugigat,
Vice President, Indigenous Partnerships, Interior Health,
Member of the Nisga’a First Nation

Leslie Varley is a committed First Nations social justice advocate with over 30 years of experience working with and for Indigenous peoples. Known for her innovative solutions, she specializes in Indigenous-specific leadership and capacity development approaches that bring long-lasting, progressive, and actionable change—resulting in improved social and health outcomes for Indigenous people.

Inspired by her own experiences as an MBA student, Leslie, as the former Executive Director of the British Columbia Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, collaborated with the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business to develop a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Advancing Reconciliation—an initiative designed to strengthen reconciliation-focused leadership within the not-for-profit social services sector.

As the first Indigenous Director of the Provincial Health Services Authority, she led the development of San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety, a cutting-edge, decolonizing anti-racism training program for B.C. health authority personnel. The introductory curriculum has since trained more than 100,000 Canadians.

As Chair of Central City Foundation—Vancouver’s oldest foundation—Leslie leads efforts to advance truth, justice, and reconciliation, including redeveloping CCF properties to provide housing for Indigenous women and advancing land back initiatives by returning property titled to Central City to its original land keepers.

Leslie’s Nisga’a formal name is T’en De-entkwill Allugigat, which translates to “Servant Leader for Indigenous People.” She belongs to the Gisk’aast (Killer Whale) house within the Nisga’a Nation through her mother’s line and identifies as a Nisga’a Nation member and Canadian.

Leslie walks and hikes daily, tends a large garden, and enjoys reading and writing short stories.

Description 

Written by Derek K Thompson – Čaabať Bookwilla | Suhiltun
, Director, Indigenous Engagement

Opening the door to Indigenous peoples’ participation in leading health systems transformation is an expression of the commitment to truth and reconciliation. Health systems that develop and implement policy based on the active participation of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples can be expected to ensure an enduring legacy of transformative change. Guided by this work, it is with great anticipation and promise that health systems begin to fundamentally shift the paradigms that perpetuate racism and discrimination against Indigenous peoples toward standards that uphold Truth and Reconciliation for all Canadians.

Stepping into and leading this important work are the dynamic and experienced individuals appointed to their respective roles as Vice Presidents. They are integral members of the senior executive teams in Northern Health, Interior Health, Fraser Health, Vancouver Coastal Health, Island Health, and the Provincial Health Services Authority. We are honoured and excited to welcome Joe Gallagher, Nicole Cross, Leslie Varley, Amanda Laboucane, Addie Pryce, and Dawn Thomas to the Indigenous Speakers Series.

This work addresses policy related to racism and discrimination against Indigenous peoples in British Columbia and defines an approach that emphasizes the importance of Cultural Safety and Humility. The work ahead will guide how health systems can adapt to better respond to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. Indigenous peoples are vital to British Columbia, and how BC relates to them defines its sense of justice, purpose, and redress. There is urgency at all levels within health systems to open the door to Indigenous participation in advancing reconciliation through Cultural Safety and Humility.

The creation of senior executive roles within regional and provincial health authorities offers the potential for transformative change within health systems in both the short and long term. Comprehensive Indigenous leadership is essential for policy changes that address racism and discrimination and enhance Cultural Safety and Humility as legitimate standards. First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples can be expected to welcome changes that clearly define Cultural Safety and foster confidence in the practice of Humility. This approach must extend beyond transformative change within health systems to have a far-reaching impact on all Canadians and other systems.

Moderator

Derek K Thompson – Čaabať Bookwilla | Suhiltun
, Director, Indigenous Engagement

Derek K Thompson – Čaabať Bookwilla | Suhiltun, Director, Indigenous Engagement

What Will I Learn?

You will learn about the overall work of Indigenous health in Northern Health, Interior Health, Fraser Health, Vancouver Coastal Health, Island Health, and the Provincial Health Services Authority.

Derek K Thompson – Čaabať Bookwilla | Suhiltun
, Director, Indigenous Engagement

Continue Learning

“The time to make things happen is now. The time to seek out our individual and shared power is now.”

Discover more about REDI’s Indigenous Speakers Series here

Find REDI’s Indigenous-Specific Resources here

CANOE Approach Workshop for Community-Engaged Research

Are you prepared to navigate the research waters of community engagement in a meaningful and reciprocal way? Join the CANOE Approach workshop to reflect on your identity and readiness to embark on a community-engaged research journey with Indigenous communities. This in-person small group workshop is co-facilitated by Dr. Kimberly Huyser, Derek Thompson, and Daniele Gallardo, and co-organized by the UBC Cluster for Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR) and the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI).

CANOE Approach Workshop

Topic | CANOE Approach Workshop for Community-Engaged Research

Dates: Thursday, January 22nd, 2026 OR Friday, February 13th, 2026

Time: 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM (PT)

Location | In-person on UBC Vancouver Campus. Exact location TBD.

Audience: This event is open to Faculty of Medicine staff, faculty, and clinical faculty.

Register for Jan 22nd
Register for Feb 13th

Please note that each session is a repeat of the same workshop, so kindly register for only one date.
As this is a small-group workshop with limited capacity, early registration is recommended.

Facilitators

Kimberly R. Huyser (She/her),

Kimberly R. Huyser (She/her),
Associate professor, Sociology, UBC
Member of the Navajo Nation, Arizona, USA

Kimberly R. Huyser is an associate professor of sociology at the University of British Columbia. She is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and grew up on the Navajo reservation in Arizona, USA. The central intellectual motivation driving her research agenda is to gain a deeper understanding of the social conditions that undermine health, as well as to identify the cultural and social resources leveraged by racial and ethnic groups in order to further their individual and collective health and well-being.

Derek K Thompson (He/Him) – Čaabať Bookwilla | Suhiltun
, Director, Indigenous Engagement

Derek K Thompson (He/Him) – Čaabať Bookwilla | Suhiltun
, Director, Indigenous Engagement

Derek K Thompson – Čaabať Bookwilla | Suhiltun is from the diitiidʔaaʔtx̣ – Ditidaht First Nation, one of fourteen Nuuchahnulth communities along the west coast of Vancouver Island. 

Derek is the Director, Indigenous Engagement for the UBC Faculty of Medicine, and he brings over 30 years of experience working with First Nations organizations and communities across the province and country to achieve wellness through health and related services. 

His mission is to foster trust and mutual respect amongst students, staff and faculty in an effort to create an understanding of the commitments made by the Faculty of Medicine to strengthen the relationship with Indigenous peoples and communities. 

Daniel Gallardo (They/them),

Daniel Gallardo (They/them),
EdD Student, Educational Studies, UBC,
UBC Public Scholar,
Mestizx from Mexico.

Daniel Gallardo is a nonbinary Mestizx from Mexico and a UBC Public Scholar. They are Nahua and P’urhépecha on their father’s side of the family, and on their mother’s, they are of settler ancestry, Andalusian-Berber and French. Daniel is a doctoral student with the Department of Educational Studies whose research involves the ideological leverage of settler-colonialism and its impacts on sexuality and gender in education. For the past fifteen years, Daniel has worked in educational leadership and curriculum with a passion and commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Their research focus contributes to the emerging field of Indigenous informed sexual orientation and gender identity scholarship as it proposes to interrogate and dismantle patriarchal and colonial assumptions of heterosexism and gender binaries performed within the normative culture and context of North America. Daniel collaborates with community organizations to develop, test and inform curricular practices that positively affect the well-being of those who regularly experience gender-based violence. 

Description 

The CANOE approach will help guide researchers in building stronger, more thoughtful relationships with Indigenous communities. While many researchers are eager to engage in this work, few pause and reflect on a more foundational question: Should you be engaging in community-based research to begin with? Through hands-on training, the CANOE (Circumspective Awareness, Navigating, Outcomes and Expectations) approach encourages researchers to reflect on whether their work should involve community engagement and how to do so in a good way. This one-day workshop introduces the CANOE Approach, a framework that invites researchers who are newer to community-engaged research to reflect on their readiness, responsibilities, and relationships before embarking on a community-engaged research journey. Rooted in the lived experiences of researchers committed to community-based work, participants will learn about ethical research practices, community expectations, and the importance of consent and collaboration, working towards reducing harm caused by outdated or colonial research approaches and creating space for lasting partnerships. Participants who complete the CANOE approach workshop will have a sense of whether their research vessel is prepared to navigate research waters in a meaningful and reciprocal way.

“This workshop builds on the CANOE framework published in The Lancet, co-authored by Dr. Kimberly Huyser, who also serves as one of the workshop facilitators.

Program

Program (text-version)

9:00 AM – 9:30 AM
Light breakfast snacks plus tea and coffee

9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Opening Circle

10:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Break

10:45 AM – 11:00 AM
Introduction to CANOE Approach

11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
River of Life Exercise

12:15 PM – 1:00 PM
Lunch Break

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
What Kind of Vessel Are You?

2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
What Kind of Waters Are You Prepared to Navigate?

3:15 PM – 3:30 PM
Closing

Engaging Values, Shifting Culture: Evidence-Based Approaches to Frame Messages that Inspire Enduring Change

Join us virtually on Monday, January 26, 2026, from 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM (PT), for an It Starts With Us session with Mark Chenery, Co-Founder and Director of Common Cause Australia. Mark will facilitate training on the Common Cause Values and Frames Fundamentals—an evidence-based approach designed for healthcare professionals, educators, leaders, and staff who want to communicate in ways grounded in shared human values. Whether you’re a leader guiding your community through challenging times, a faculty member facilitating complex discussions, a communicator crafting sensitive messages, or a clinician providing meaningful feedback, you’ll learn how to frame messages that foster connection, reduce polarization, and strengthen shared commitment to justice, equity, decolonization, Indigenization, and inclusion (JEDII).

Topic | Engaging Values, Shifting Culture: Evidence-Based Approaches to Frame Messages that Inspire Enduring Change

Date: Monday, January 26, 2026

Time: 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM (PT)

Live Stream & Recording | Register to receive the webcast link or access to the recording after the event.

Register

All REDI events are open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Speaker Bio

Mark Chenery

Mark Chenery,
Co-founder & Director, Common Cause Australia

Mark Chenery is a communications expert and trainer who works with mission driven organisations to incorporate a values-based approach to community engagement.

His background includes advertising and journalism and heading up the community engagement program of an international human rights organisation in Australia.

Since establishing Common Cause Australia in 2014, Mark and his colleagues have trained thousands of campaigners, communicators and fundraisers from Australia and beyond in the science of values and framing.

His research and training has changed the way many Australian and international mission driven organisations as well as government departments and agencies engage with the public on social justice, health and environmental issues.

web: commoncause.com.au
email: mark@commoncause.com.au 
twitter: mark_chenery

Description 

Shifting culture requires more than policies; it requires messages that resonate. Learning to ground EDI communication—in teaching, leading, and everyday interactions—in shared human values is key to creating lasting change. Join us for a virtual Common Cause Values and Frames Fundamentals training, an evidence-based session designed for healthcare professionals, educators, leaders, and staff who want to communicate in ways that resonate with our deepest, self-transcendent values.

Common Cause has partnered with universities and healthcare organizations around the world to help leaders, educators, and practitioners shift culture and drive meaningful social change. Their engaging workshops combine research with real-world examples from healthcare, education, and EDI—offering practical tools to strengthen your impact.

In this training, you will explore:

  • How human values shape behaviour—and why they matter.
  • Communication strategies that motivate enduring cultural change without triggering backlash.
  • How to frame programs, messages, initiatives, lessons, and conversations so they build support for justice, equity, decolonization, Indigenization, and inclusion (JEDII).

This training is especially relevant if you are:

  • A leader sending a message to your community during a difficult or polarized time—seeking to prevent division and keep people working toward a shared goal.
  • A faculty member facilitating a challenging classroom discussion on equity, Indigenous health, or systemic injustice.
  • A communicator drafting a website update or institutional announcement on sensitive issues.
  • A clinical faculty member delivering feedback to residents in a way that resonates and motivates growth.
  • A leader or speaker offering opening remarks or framing a land acknowledgement—and wanting to do so in a way that is authentic, engaging, and meaningful rather than perfunctory or formulaic.

Follow-up Master Class

If there is sufficient interest, participants who attend the training (or watch the recording on our website) will be invited to join a follow-up Master Class composed of two small-group sessions (3 hours each, virtual). Each Master Class will be limited to up to 15 participants and tailored for specific audiences—educators, clinicians, communicators, or leaders.

Working in groups of five, participants will apply values-based messaging principles to real scenarios, drafting communications they can take back to their workplaces. These sessions are designed to deepen your learning and provide practical opportunities to embed these strategies into your day-to-day work. Please indicate your interest when you register.

Call for Applications: Indigenous Stream of the CHES Clinical Educator Fellowship Program